better than darkness
is fake darkness
which swindles you into necking with someone's antique cousin

better than banks
are false banks
where you change all your rough money into legal tender

better then coffee
is blue coffee
which you drink in your last bath
or sometimes waiting for your shoes to be dismantled

better than poetry
is my poetry
which refers to everything that is beautiful and dignified,
but is neither of these itself

better than wild
is secretly wild
as when i am in the darkness of a parking space with a new snake

better than art
is repulsive art
which demonstrates better than scripture
the tiny measure of your improvement

better than darkness
is darkness which is inkier, vaster
more profound and eerily refrigerated
filled with caves and binding tunnels in which appear beckoning dead relatives
and other religious paraphernalia

better than love
is wuve
which is more refined
superbly erotic
tiny serene people with huge genitalia
but lighter than thought
comfortably installed on an eyelash of mist
and living grimly
ever after cooking, gardening and raising kids